When we woke at 10.00 on Thursday morning the first thing we noticed was the smell of smoke filling the air, when we opened the patio doors (we always have the same back room at the Lamon) all we could see was the thick smoke in the distance and all you could hear was the sound of the locals shouting at what was happening.
By 2.00 in the afternoon the fire had taken a real hold, helped by the heavy gusting wind faning it. Fire engines were arriving all the time even from as far away as Heraklion. Word was that it was started deliberatly in 4 diferent places. The Secret Nest in the olive groves was evacuated. By now the road was blocked off by the bridge and the taxis and private cars were being moved away, although this was to allow the fire engines access at the bridge to refill with water. Some guy appeared in a huge JCB type vehicle and was dashing a breakneck speed from one side of the fire to the other in an attempt to create a fire break.
Local farmers arrived in pickup trucks with water barrels in the back with hose pipes in an attempt to help.
It was very saddening seeing grown men crying like they were, seeing what was to all intent their family history going up in smoke like it was, some of the Olive trees were over 200 years old.
In the evening as we went to Madousa. poor Babis was almost in tears, a lot of the olives had been in his family for generations, we tryed to comfort him, but what can you say?
As we walked back to the Lamon in the dark all you could see in the hillside was this eerie glow of the olive trees still alight inside and looking like ghostly fairy lights in the distance.
On the Friday morning it appeared that the fire had been beaten at last with the fire crews working throughout the night, but mid afternoon we heard that it had started up again and that the arsonists had been caught and were handed over to the police, although we later heard that they were not in fact the perpertraitors.
The fire engines remained for several days afterwards.
The only good thing is that appart from a few cases of smoke inhalation no one was seriously hurt, and that our beloved Plakias is safe once more.
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